British Statutory Sector Partnerships with the Voluntary Sector

Abstract

The boundaries of the welfare state in Britain have shifted considerably since the early 1980s. In the context of a desire to see an expanded mixed economyof welfare, the voluntary and community sectors have been expected to take on, in partnership with the statutory sector, a more active role in the delivery of a range of welfare services. Governmental speeches and policy initiatives in the UK have reasoned that the voluntary sector is cost-effective, offers “added value” to users and statutory sector purchasers, provides high quality services, is adaptable to changing needs and promotes greater user involvement. This article takes a critical look at some of the claims that are often made for service-providing voluntary organizations in the field of community (social) care.     

Pressures on the UK Voluntary Sport Sector

This paper uses research from two projects, conducted for Sport England and for the Central Council of Physical Recreation (CCPR), to analyze pressures on volunteers in sport in the United Kingdom (UK). Both research projects were contract research, conducted to inform policy and therefore were not designed to build on theoretical insights. However, from the results the research developed an understanding of the interrelated pressures on the voluntary sector in sport, which was informed by theory. This paper describes the pressures and relates them to previous research into volunteers. Contextualizing the issues faced by volunteers in sports organizations suggests several questions for further academic work, not only focussed on sports volunteers, but the voluntary sector in general. In particular, are the pressures experienced by the voluntary sector in UK sport common to sports volunteers in other countries, and to what extent are they also a reflection of general pressures on the voluntary sector?     

Every Child Matters and the Voluntary and Community Sector

Children's services in England are undergoing a radical reorganisation. New arrangements for local authorities and statutory partners impact significantly on organisations in the voluntary and community sector that are encouraged to deliver more public services. Local voluntary organisations will need help to organise themselves and to build capacity if they are to be effective partners at all stages of the planning and delivery process. Copyright © 2006 The Author(s). Journal compilation © 2006 National Children's Bureau.     

Lottery Funding and Changing Organizational Identity in the UK Voluntary Sector

This paper focuses upon ways in which National Lottery funding impacts upon aspects of identity for small- to medium-sized organizations in the United Kingdom, and highlights some of the less-anticipated difficulties that groups may experience after receipt of a grant. A large Lottery grant can facilitate rapid expansion and may necessitate a degree of organizational learning for which groups are often unprepared. The paper suggests that a Lottery grant may lead to changes in the ways in which an organization identifies itself, or is identified by stakeholders. However, these changes may not be accompanied by a corresponding change in the organization's capacity or underlying cultural ethos. On the basis of the primary research carried out in 2003, the paper examines the implications of these changes for individual organizations and for the sector more widely.     

Advanced Networked Technologies in the U.K. Voluntary Sector

Advanced networked technologies have the potential to support deep strategic and operational transformation within voluntary organizations as they seek to respond to shifts in the social, economic, and political spheres in which they operate. Evidence form our study of U.K. voluntary organizations demonstrates relatively low uptake of the core networking technologies and applications essential to support such transformation. Friends of the Earth and The Samaritans are exceptions to this trend. Case studies of these organizations demonstrate that they are using advanced networked technologies to reconfigure key information flows and relationships, in support of enhanced campaigning and more effective user services. The extent to which these organizations are able to exploit the transformational potential that the technologies present is tempered by historically institutionalized relationships and values by which they are characterized.     

Child Protection,Voluntary Organizations,and the Public Sector in Sweden

This paper presents an analysis of the role of Swedish voluntary organizations within the field of child protection as well as processes of institutionalization within such organizations. The empirical focus is on the two most important voluntary organizations within the field today, namely Rädda Barnen (Save the Children) and BRIS (Children's Right in Society). And their importance within the child protection discourse, as well as their role as producers of welfare, is discussed. In the latter respect two different processes of professionalization—professionalization of volunteers and avant-garde professionalism—are identified. It is demonstrated that the relationship between the state and voluntary organizations is a key issue when understanding the nature of the organizations and their role in the organizational landscape.     

Consumer Participation: The Voluntary Sector and the Concept of Power

The relationship between voluntary agencies and their consumers has been the subject of very little, if any, empirical research. The burden of this paper is to highlight questions appropriate for investigation. It explores the idea of a ‘power’ relationship between voluntary agencies and consumers, and makes particular reference to the theory of a social construction of disability. Questions are raised about the meaning of ‘consumer participation’ and the role of the disability movement. Consumer participation depends upon the exercise of power; which itself requires the fulfilment of three pre-conditions. Successful implementation hinges on more than just structural and operational change. Participation must be seen as a process of re-definition: a reconstruction of the social reality in which voluntary groups exist. Such a process fundamentally alters the relationship between voluntary agencies and consumers; and so transforms the ethos and nature of voluntary action itself.     

Social Sector Priorities: An Analysis of Budgets and Expenditures in India in the 1990s

Many policies in India, including economic reform policies, are officially intended to alleviate poverty. But how committed is the Indian government? And to what? This article addresses India's social spending priorities over the past decade. Looking at the rhetoric in budget speeches, actual expenditure patterns and the process by which budgets are formulated, it finds a widened concept of poverty and a shift away from income and employment programmes to human development. The budget‐making process is not very participatory, and the role of the Finance Ministry has increased. Although the widening of the concept of poverty has positive aspects, within the overall context of structural adjustment it has facilitated the politically convenient neglect of other dimensions (income and employment).     

Reviewing the Relationship Between the Voluntary Sector and the State in Britain in the 1990s

There have been three major analytical reviews that have examined the voluntary–statutory relationship during the 1990s, one undertaken by government in 1990 and the other two independently in 1993 and 1996. This article suggests that an historical understanding of this relationship (especially in terms of its sociopolitical dimensions) is crucial, but was missing from the 1990 review and misrepresented by the 1993 review. The 1996 document has been subjected to harsh criticism, but it was arguably sounder in its understanding of this fundamental issue. The national compact between representatives of the voluntary sector and the state, launched at the end of 1998, has built upon the arguments put forward in 1996. However, the paper suggests that given the vexed history of partnership between the sectors and the extent to which the statutory sector has become the dominant partner at the end of the 20th century, it would be premature to be overly optimistic. The paper examines three major shifts in the voluntary–statutory relationship during the 20th century, before reviewing the 1990s' documents in more detail.     

Perceptions of Board Chair Leadership Effectiveness in Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Organizations

This article reports on the results of a multi-year, multi-phase international quantitative research investigation into perceptions of board chair leadership impact in nonprofit and voluntary organizations in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Specifically, this research tests four hypotheses and a hypothesized model derived from theoretical perspectives on chair leadership effectiveness that emerged when the results of a prior grounded theory research investigation were reviewed ex post facto through the lens of leadership literature (see Harrison and Murray, NPML, accepted). The purpose of this phase of the research is to determine: (a) whether there is empirical support for the theoretical perspectives advanced; and (b) which perspective offers the best explanation for why some board chairs are perceived as having more impact in the role than others. The results suggest chair leadership effectiveness is best understood as a multi-dimensional theoretical construct explained by more than one leadership theory. The article concludes with a discussion of the findings and directions for further research.     

Practitioner Niches in the (Penal) Voluntary Sector: Perspectives from Management and the Frontlines

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - Voluntary sector and non-profit studies require theoretical frameworks facilitating better understandings of what occurs...     

Online Fundraising in the Human Services

SUMMARY

This paper examines emerging possibilities for use of the Internet in human service fundraising. Human service managers must compete for limited funds with their counterparts in educational, religious, health, and other nonprofit organizations. There is enormous potential for raising funds over the Internet; yet, this approach to resource development may not be appropriate or effective in some instances for certain human service agencies. The selection of fundraising approach must be consistent with the organizational context in which it is used. This paper provides examples of cases where use of the Internet may prove to be an effective method for human service fundraising. It also examines cases where use of the Internet may not be a good match for the organizational context, whether in terms of ethics or dollars raised.     

Knowing and Governing: The Mapping of the Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector as Statecraft

Recent debate in Voluntas and elsewhere has paid a great deal of attention to the subject of mapping the nonprofit sector. However, very little attention has been paid to the ways in which the practice of mapping is a political mode of knowing and the ways in which knowing is governing. In this essay, we turn to critical theory and political anthropology in order to demonstrate how mapping as it is currently practiced is a mode of knowledge inquiry that facilitates statecraft. In light of these interdisciplinary perspectives, we wrestle with the implications of knowing—and thereby governing—voluntary collective organization in this manner. We conclude that this approach potentially disciplines the qualitative dimensions of democratic associational life and misrepresents the possibilities of social change.     

Media Publicity and the Voluntary Sector: The Case of Nonprofit Organizations in New York City

Media publicity is an important resource for contemporary voluntary associations, but very little is actually known about the resources and organizational characteristics that are most important for getting media attention. To address this question, we collected and analyzed data on the organizational attributes and news publicity of 739 nonprofit organizations in New York City. We find that an organization's income, paid staff, membership size, and library resources are significantly related to getting media publicity, whereas the number of chapter affiliations is inversely related to publicity. Association type is also a significant factor that influences an organization's ability to get publicity. We discuss the implications that these findings have for current debates about advocacy and civic engagement in the nonprofit sector.     

The Deployment of Partnerships by the Voluntary Sector to Address Service Needs in Rural and Small Town Canada

Service restructuring trends since the 1980s have resulted in the downsizing or closure of many services in rural and small town Canada. In response, voluntary groups have been filling some of the emerging service gaps. Services, however, often are directed at complex problems that demand information, support, or assistance from a range of sources and institutions. For voluntary groups, this underscores a need to partner with other groups, organizations, or service providers. At the same time, voluntary organizations are increasingly encouraged to develop partnerships with public or private partners in order to qualify for government funding. This study tracks 29 voluntary organizations in four rural and small town places across Canada to explore the development and maintenance of partnerships (both local and non-local), as well as the types of networks, resources, and expertise for which partnerships were used. The findings indicate that while voluntary organizations feel that local partnerships are more important, partnerships with groups outside of these places are equally developed. Partnerships were used to expand networks, obtain expertise, and access a range of resources to assist in daily operations and delivery of services. The increase in partnerships with groups outside of these communities, particularly with non-local service providers, will have important implications for voluntary organizations and policy makers.

The Role of Ideas and Interests in Voluntary Sector Organizing: Some Insights from Canadian Scholarship

This article makes the case that a more sociological and discursive approach to nonprofit studies is needed to analyze sectoral dynamics. Using a sociological framework, it explores how the unique experiences and strategies of the nonprofit sectors are embedded in broader shifts in governance at a macro scale. Finally, it illustrates how Canadian scholarship provides a valuable lens that extends current theoretical frameworks by linking the analysis of sectoral mobilization and organization with the in-depth investigation of government–nonprofit relationships.     

Market Rationality Inside Voluntary Sector: An Analysis of Five Organizations in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil

What we now understand as rational and logical in today’s world provides a mental scheme to take action, based on a framework of premises and values. These rules aim to maximize the utility of consequences, despite of any subjective value. Weber (Economy and Society, 1978) classified this scheme as an “instrumental rationality”, characterized by being guided by the goals, means, and consequence of the action. On the other hand, he also defined “substantive rationality”, postulated on the values of the subject, and not guided by any consequences of action. This study acknowledges that NGOs (non-governmental organizations) must belong to a field other than that of economic businesses, because they are based on different rationalities, especially when they encompass the observation in organizations that work for social transformation. A field study was made with five nonprofit organizations whose stated goals were social transformation, seeking to identify influences that the adoption of instrumental rationality imposes on accomplishing the expected objectives for these organizations. Contingencies were found that benefit from using instrumentality in such organizations, such as the need for self-subsistence, the area where they work, size of the organization, influence of the leader and so on. The conclusion is that the lack of consciousness of the market’s influence on them very often causes them to uncritically and bluntly absorb the typical organizational dynamics of economic business, which has strong potential to corrupt their conceptual motivations, when guiding them strategically through the consequences of actions.     

Parental Expenditures on Children's Education

This study examined selected factors related to parents' allocation of money for children's primary and secondary education and, if money was spent on education, the variation in the amount spent. Cragg's double-hurdle model was utilized to analyze data from the 1996 Consumer Expenditure Survey on 331 families that spent money on their children's primary and secondary education and 827 families where parents reported no such expenditures. Factors that were significantly related to spending money on children's primary and secondary education, included after-tax income, parent's education, region, and season of the year. Variables significantly related how much was allocated to children's primary and secondary education, included after-tax income, parent's education, age, and race.